Monday, February 23, 2009

A Very Good Day


My inner-Julia Child was satisfied this morning by cooking live on WTTE-TV's Good Day Columbus. What a fun experience! Thanks to all of you at Fox 28 for helping me feel so welcome and at ease.

Here's the recipe that I cooked on the show. The great thing about cooking this meal is that you decide how to serve each person individually. If you have a little one who doesn't like shrimp, no problem, more for you! If you have someone who really likes sausage, let them plate up some extra andouille. In fact, this recipe works great with chicken or pork too, don't feel like you have to make it only with the sausage or shrimp.

As I shared on the show, for this recipe, I have altered a traditional Jambalaya from its usual chunky consistency to a more tomato sauce based presentation. If your child is weary of new foods, get them involved with the cooking, so they have a sense of ownership in the meal. Or, instead of calling it Jambalaya, you could call it Cajun Pasta Sauce...or Mardi Gras Pasta.

Enjoy!

Deconstructed Pasta Jambalaya

10 oz of cooked small pasta (I used whole wheat bow tie, but you can use any your kid's will like)
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 roasted red pepper, diced (you can buy these jarred)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 - 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
few drops of hot sauce (optional)
1/2 pound andouille sausage (or any smoked sausage)
1/2 pound of pre-cooked shrimp

Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Drain, set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, begin to heat the sausage and/or shrimp in a pan over medium heat. Stir occasionally to allow it to slightly brown the sausage.

In another saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery and roasted red pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the celery and onion are soft. Add the thyme, oregano, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, stirring well to mix. Add the canned crushed tomatoes, worcestershire and hot sauce, if using. Stir well.

Cook the tomato mixture for 4-5 more minutes. Serve over the pasta, topping with shrimp and sausage, as desired.

Serves 4

Thanks again Fox 28 for a great experience!
SPC

PS--I am working on getting some pictures from this morning, or even the digital segment so I can post it...

4 comments:

Momma Bear said...

congrats that's so exciting! I live in Columbus but I missed the show! doh!

What a neat thing! Now do you do this often?

Steel Magnolia said...

congrats J! So exciting... I hope we are able to see it. I am so proud of you and glad it went well...

JerseyBaby said...

This is so cool! How did it all come about?

Kendra aka The Meanest Momma said...

How cool! I hope you can find a way to post the clip!